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Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Libertarians won 'major party' status in Iowa

State Board certifies Iowa election results | Muscatine | muscatinejournal.com - Rod Boshart:

December 5, 2016 - "It’s official. Republican Donald Trump outpolled Democrat Hillary Clinton by 147,314 votes in Iowa’s general-election balloting to claim the state’s six presidential electoral votes.

"Four members of the Iowa Executive Council – acting as the state’s Board of Canvass – unanimously certified the Nov. 8 election results on Monday closing the books on a near-record turnout year that drew 1,581,371 absentee and Election-day participants.

"'Iowans take elections seriously,” said Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate, a council member who also serves as the state’s election commissioner. 'They turned out, they voted and we had a good clean, open and honest election and we saw some real participation.'

"Iowa’s official election outcome saw Trump put Iowa in the Republican column by polling 800,983 votes to Clinton’s 653,669 votes – with 934,219 ballots cast on Election Day and 647,152 absentee, which was down a couple percentage points from absentee votes cast in 2012, Pate said. Overall, more than 72 percent of eligible Iowans cast ballots – a level about 9,000 higher than four years ago but not higher than the 2008 record turnout, he added....

"Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson finished third behind Trump and Clinton in Iowa’s presidential balloting with 59,186 votes, while Evan McMullin drew 12,366 by petition, Green Party candidate Jill Stein garnered 11,479 and 17,746 votes went to write-in candidates.

"Johnson’s total was significant because the 3.8 percent support surpassed the 2 percent threshold needed to qualify the Libertarian Party to be granted the same major-party status as the Republican and Democratic parties – meaning future Libertarian candidates automatically will be on Iowa’s primary-election ballot and have access to checkoff money as one of the eligible parties listed on the state income tax return, Pate said."

Read more: http://muscatinejournal.com/news/local/muscatine/state-board-certifies-iowa-election-results/article_670a5da2-e47e-5200-b49f-244bc8408e77.html

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